Friday, December 23, 2016

Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World

This
month marks 20 years since the death of Carl Sagan, the astronomer
who became a household name and unofficial spokesman for science
thanks to his Cosmos TV miniseries. While Sagan is best known
for Cosmos, he also was a prolific writer of science books
targeted toward the general public, the last of which was titled The
Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, published
in 1995.

Throughout
his life as a scientist and later celebrity scientist, Sagan was a
strong proponent of the scientific method and critical thought while
railing against pseudoscience and superstition and ignorance they
bring forth. However, going into the mid 1990s, Sagan had never
written a book on such topics, though he commonly sprinkled these
themes throughout his other works. This changed with Demon Haunted
World which, as it would come to pass, became, in a way, Sagan's
final testament to the world.

In
the Demon Haunted World, Sagan puts 400+ pages broken down
into 25 chapters to work in both espousing the scientific method and
critical thought while systematically picking apart pseudoscience and
superstition in both historical and current lights while also setting
down ideas as to how humanity can avoid reverting to ignorance. The
book is easily broken down into thirds, with the first being largely
devoted to exposing pseudosciences for what they truly are, the
middle focusing on how individuals can better their thinking skills,
and t he final being devoted to creating a scientifically-literate,
critical thinking citizenry.

While
there are many superstitions and pseudosciences addressed in Demon
Haunted World, if there is any single one of particular focus, it
is aliens. This is probably for a couple of reasons. First, the
publicity for aliens exploded in the 1990s in various forms of media.
In the 1990s, aliens were to be found in movies, on TV, on the radio,
and in all forms of print. By the mid 1990s, aliens were popular.
Secondly, more so than any other pseudoscience, aliens are, by many
in the general public, viewed as being under the umbrella of science.
As anyone who understands what science is really about realizes, this
is not the case for aliens for the simple reason that science is
based on the idea of testability by way of physical and/or measurable
evidence, none of which exists for aliens.

Sagan
takes a novel approach to explaining why many pseudosciences are, in
fact, pseudosciences. In the chapter The Dragon in My Garage, Sagan
examines the train of thought that many believers in various
pseudosciences follow. The premise, pseudosciences rely on the notion
that the inability to prove something false makes it true.
Illustrated, Sagan tells a story about a dragon in his garage wherein
the reader takes the role of investigator. Upon looking in the garage
and seeing no dragon, the reader asks where it is. Answer: it's
invisible. The reader then proposes spreading flour on the floor to
see the invisible dragon's footprints, which do not appear. The
reason: the dragon floats in the air. How about a thermal test to
detect the dragon's fiery breath? No abnormal readings present
themselves. Reason: the invisible fire is heatless. At a loss, the
reader proposes spraying paint in the garage to make the invisible
dragon visible. When the paint fails to stick to anything, there's a
reason for this too: the dragon is incorporeal. Sagan's question to
the reader: what's the difference between an invisible, floating,
incorporeal dragon that spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? At
best, judgment must be postponed until some sort of physical evidence
for the dragon's existence presents itself. Until then, belief in the
dragon in the garage is purely a matter of faith because there's no
evidence that can be tested, only a sincerely told story. The same
is true for aliens, cryptids, and likewise. Bottom line:
pseudosciences rely on faith, not evidence, as cornerstones of
belief.

Another
standout chapter is The Fine Art of Baloney Detection, in which Sagan
presents a toolkit for thinking through any topic that must be
approached critically. What is this toolkit? A list of questions to
ask oneself when examining any question. The kit includes, but is not
limited to looking for independent confirmation of “facts,”
looking for underlying motives, Occam's Razor, and the need to
quantify if possible. Sagan then presents a long list of logical
fallacies with examples. Why should non-scientists care about the
baloney detection kit? Simple: it can help anyone be a better
consumer in a market-driven world. After all, advertisements wouldn't
bend the truth, would they?

After
dismantling pseudoscientific claims and teaching how to think
critically/scientifically, the third major theme in the book is the
need for scientific literacy. Sagan notes the modern world is
dependent on science and technology but that very few people even
understand science and technology, which is a recipe for disaster.
Providing evidence for his claims of scientific illiteracy, Sagan
cites the National Science Foundation and some of its alarming
findings, namely that, among others : 63% of adults are unaware that
dinosaurs died out before humans arose, 75% do not know that
antibiotics can only kill bacteria, 57% do not know that electrons
are smaller than atoms, and roughly half do not know that the Earth
goes around the Sun and that it takes a year to do so.

Sagan
then takes society and the American educational system to task. His
chief complaint: adults complaining about “dumb questions” from
kids and thus, through put-downs, instilling the idea in kids that
asking questions is a bad thing. In his personal experience with
students in the K-12 system, Sagan notes that first graders ask a lot
more fundamental questions (Why is the sky blue? Why do we have
seasons, Why are plants green?) than do 12th graders. On
the American educational system, Sagan also has criticism, namely a
lack of inspiring science courses in the K-12 curriculum and an
over-reliance on teaching technical reading and memorization because
such courses are easier for the educators to teach. Sagan noted that
the same was true of his primary education and that there were no
real stimulating science courses in his education until he reached
the university level. Result: by the time they become seniors in high
school, many students who were interested in science at an earlier
age have no intention of pursuing a career in science thanks to a
lack of mental stimulation. A final criticism against American
society is the media available to the public. Sagan notes all of the
pseudoscience/paranormal-themed entertainment in media but the woeful
lack of science-themed entertainment (this was 1996, well before the
profusion of cable TV specialty channels like the Science Channel).
Example: virtually all newspapers have a daily astrology section, but
how many papers have even a weekly science column? Not many. Another
citation is wall-to-wall coverage of the OJ Simpson trial on TV but a
virtual absence of science programming (though the PBS series Nova is
cited as being a notable exception). For all of the criticisms,
though, Sagan is not hopeless, laying out blueprints for how we as a
nation can fix our problems that contribute to a lack of scientific
literacy.

Of
the 25 chapters in the book, 4 were co-written by Sagan and his wife,
Ann Druyan, including the last two, which Sagan notes are the most
political in the book (he even has a disclaimer to this at the start
of chapter 24). Quick to illustrate the necessity of this apparent
digression, Sagan notes that critical thinking skills and the ability
to question authority, both of which are essential to science, are
also crucially important to maintaining a healthy, functioning
democracy. Without critical thought, Sagan notes, a democracy can be
hijacked and people be led astray into blindly following a
charismatic leader. Examples in American history cited by Sagan
include the Alien & Sedition Acts, passed during the John Adams
administration, which effectively criminalized criticizing the
government, the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the
'war' on drugs (especially marijuana), and the frenzy whipped up
against Saddam Hussein on the eve of the Gulf War (he was our ally
in the 1980s). In world history, Sagan notes even more monumental
atrocities, including but not limited to the witch hysteria in
Europe, the Holocaust, and the atrocities under communist
dictatorships in Russia and China. All of these, Sagan notes, were
fundamentally allowed to happen because of a lack of skepticism and
unwillingness to question authority on the part of citizens and even
other leaders. To avoid sliding into totalitarianism, which relies on
ignorance and submission on the part of the public and which actively
seeks to quash skeptical inquiry, Sagan declares that citizens must
be educated in matters of science, skepticism, and democracy, which
he views as inextricably intertwined.

The
need to be a critical consumer of information is especially true at
present with the profusion of information, not all of which is
reputable, on the Internet , wherein anyone can publish anything
without peer review. With the whole 'fake news' narrative that has
spring up following the 2016 presidential election, it is critical
for people to know how to think for themselves. Perhaps the only
thing of greater disservice to the pursuit of knowledge than false
information are the calls by some that the government do something
about reining in 'fake news' and other misinformation. By giving
government control over media, which I strongly disagree with and
have no doubt in my belief that Carl Sagan would feel the same way,
we the people would be giving away our freedom to think for ourselves
by allowing the government to control the flow of information. If
'fake news' is public enemy #1 on the government media police's most
wanted list now, what's next? Political opinions contrary to the
controlling party's beliefs? Comedians' material that certain groups
find 'offensive?' Anything deemed by government to be 'corrupting' to
today's children? Scientific discoveries and ideas that threaten
prevailing religious beliefs? The list could go on and on, thus
showing the slippery slope government policing 'fake news' could
lead us toward. It's better to take false information hook, line, and
sinker once and then discover the truth on one's own at a later time
than it is to have the government spoon feed us only what it thinks
we need to know. There's nothing wrong with being wrong in itself, to
err is human, it's how we learn.

In
the final chapter, Sagan contrasts the Founding Fathers with today's
leaders. The Founding Fathers were all products of the
Enlightenment, and two of them, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas
Jefferson, were actually scientists. The Founding Fathers saw
political actions as experiments in that, whenever a policy was
implemented, the results must be carefully monitored and any changes
made if the policy had its shortcomings. Democracy, like science, can
be self correcting if the people and leaders both pay attention to
the decisions made and correct the bad ones accordingly. Sagan also
contrasts the Founding Fathers' attitudes toward education with those
expressed by today's politicians. Quoting Jefferson, Sagan notes that
the cost of education is miniscule when compared to the cost of
ignorance. In contrast, most of today's politicians do not understand
the process of education, science, or critical thought, yet seek to
influence such fields, anyway. Sagan rightly notes that this is a
recipe for disaster. The Founding Fathers were well-versed in the
methods of skeptical thought, had their principles, and acted
accordingly. Today's leaders are more often than not told what to do
by way of opinion polls. In summation, Sagan concludes that free
speech and education in skepticism, science, democracy, the Bill of
Rights, and how to use and protect them (and what will happen if we
don't) are crucial for a free society because they serve as the tools
we can use to prevent ourselves from becoming enveloped in darkness.

In
writing The Demon Haunted World, Carl Sagan was finally
coalescing into a single work his thoughts on pseudoscience and
skeptical inquiry on both the individual and societal levels. Perhaps
(he never did say) this book was inspired by his own health, which
was in a precarious state come 1995. The year before, Sagan was
diagnosed with myodisplasia, a rare blood disorder that commonly
morphs (as it did in Sagan's case) into leukemia. His life already
saved by a bone marrow transplant, perhaps being confronted with his
own mortality inspired Sagan to put pen to paper and write a book
that systematically dismantled various pseudosciences, taught
skeptical inquiry, and made a case for why critical thinking skills
are vital not only to science, but to democratic society as a whole,
all while offering suggestions as to how and achieve the goals of a
well-educated, skeptical citizenry.

Perhaps
more so than any other of his books, Sagan's Demon Haunted
World will stand the test of time. As iconic as Cosmos is
and as heavy on science his other books are, science, as Sagan so
often acknowledged, is a self-correcting process wherein current
knowledge will be updated and old theories discarded in the face of
new evidence. It is for this reason that, as the decades pass,
Sagan's other works will become dated in the face of new discoveries
while The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark,
will remain forever current as this book does not state scientific
facts, but teaches how to think scientifically. Needless to say, this
is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in not only science,
but in psychology, sociology, history, and politics, among other
topics.